Under Story

Below we have prepared some thoughtful discussion questions for Under Story to help get your book club conversation started. If the author or publisher releases an official discussion guide, we'll add a link here so you can easily find those questions, too.


1. Laurel leaves behind her life as a successful scientist to work as a dishwasher at a remote Antarctic research station. Is she seeking the space to process what happened, or is the physically demanding work another way of avoiding her grief?

2. The novel combines hard science, including physics, with personal themes of love and grief. Did you find this combination effective, or did one element distract from the other?

3. Do you view Laurel's desire to step through the Arc as an act of courageous hope, or as a refusal to accept reality? Where does the novel draw the line between grief and an obsession with changing the past?

4. How does the nature of Silas's death shape the way Laurel and Eli grieve? How does the novel explore guilt and the desire to atone for our most painful mistakes?

5. Laurel and Eli turn to science in different ways after losing Silas. Does science help them understand their grief, or does it give them another way to avoid confronting it?

6. How did you interpret the ending? Did you find it hopeful, tragic, or somewhere in between? What do you think Benjamin ultimately suggests about our desire to change the past?

Book Club Talking Points:
Under Story is a great choice for book clubs. It includes themes of grief, love and alternate realities, which provide plenty to discuss. The main character, Laurel, makes choices that raise questions about guilt, second chances, and how far we would go to change the past.

The setting in Antarctica and the ideas in speculative science add depth to the conversation. This book is ideal for groups that enjoy character-driven stories with big ideas and lots of room for discussion.